The Dark Hearted
by unknownforce
Summary: A few years before the fifty year war ends. Dycedarg begins to develop ideas for getting into power and after he leads a brutal attack eventually plots the death of his father. PG rating for language and violence (although not graphic violence)


An Ordalia knight by the name of Grisho stomped out of his moderate sized tent into the bright light of yet another approaching day. He was followed by two other knights he knew little about, who had been offering him assistance for the past two days.

Grisho and the two other knights had set up camp nearby the militia, who were already awake and alert (mainly because they had been told to be ready early the previous afternoon after training). As soon as the members of the militia noticed the approaching knights, they quickly formed ranks and bowed down in a sign of respect and honor, though many did so a bit grudgingly.

With a wave of a hand from Grisho, the militia all stood up, alert and prepared for any order that should await them. Most of them were dressed in leather armor, the cheapest of all armor and the only armor that could be afforded, and while a few of them carried broad swords, the majority only had daggers. On the other hand, the three knights had extremely heavy armor and shining helms, thick shields, and of course very large swords of an unknown metal to nearly every militia member there. Most of the members were young children. Some were no older then thirteen or fourteen, while the rest of the members were made up of adult farmers. Everyone in the small village of Renhi over twelve and younger then forty had been forced to join this particular militia, so their numbers were around two hundred or so.

"Good morning men, I hope you all slept well? Today will be our first encounter with the enemy, so I hope you are all prepared!"

Nearly every member of the militia let out a shocked yells of horror. An encounter with trained troops from Ivalice?! Outrageous!

One of the older farmers yelled out loud, "With all due respect, sir, we are not prepared to deal with strong warriors!"

Grisho frowned down at the short man who happened to be somewhat nearby him. "Not to worry, this war is nearly over. We may have a shortage of troops ourselves, but Ivalice is far worse off! They have sent all of their best men back to quell the riots occurring, so we have nothing to fear. We are most likely dealing with a group of rogue mercenaries who have no idea of our numbers, therefore, victory is a certainty!"

The farmer did not seem satisfied with this answer, but did not object further.

"Remember men, you will only need to serve in one or two battles before this war ends. Once it is over, I assure you that great changes will take place and that you will all receive payment for your efforts!"

The other two knights exchanged looks. It was true Ivalice was in turmoil, but they doubted it could be worse off then Ordalia. The Ordalia army had lost easily a half of its original size, and laws had been passed forcing nearly everyone to join in protecting their homeland. Not to mention that poverty and disease were running rampant throughout the countryside. Yes, there was not a chance Ivalice was fairing worse. Yet it was the knights duty to make sure the militia did its job properly. They just had to pray that the militia would not revolt as soon as they found out they would be offered nothing at all once the war was over.  
  
---

Meanwhile, a fair deal outside the village, a small group of the feared Hokuten knights marched forward. This particular group of Hokuten knights was lead by Dycedarg, son of commander Balbanes. The group contained only twenty soldiers, but each member was highly trained in different abilities, and all of the members were Dycedargs to command. He had created his own unit within the Hokuten, a specialized group that he believed to be nearly indestructible.

Dycedarg had left with his men early in the morning before the rest of the Hokuten had even awoken. He was prepared to show to his father his true abilities today as he destroyed the enemy knights alone and without any assistance. The old man would finally respect him after he showed his cunning and skills in warfare.

Then again, this was only what his troops believed his intentions to be, while in reality it was far from the truth. Though he hid it quite well, Dycedarg hated his father. Balbanes was an idiot and an unworthy commander in Dycedargs eyes. He may have been a good fighter, but otherwise he was pathetic. He treated all people as equals, respected his enemies and rivals, and even allowed his enemies opportunities to surrender! Such idiotic behavior! Not to mention that he had gone so far as to marry another woman after the death of Dycedargs mother, and after only a few months! The man pretended to respect others, but he was really just a pathetic weak man deep down inside. The rest of the family aside from Zalbag was weak too, and he hated them all. Still, he hated his father above all others, for it was the old man who had brought his siblings into being, and on top of everything else had the nerve to adopt two commoners!

_I'm the only one in the entire Beovulve family with any brains... I'm the only one who realizes that morals and justice are all hypocritical nonsense created to trick the weak minded.. I am the only one who can, no, WILL bring the Beovulves into true power and respect! Only I alone can do it!_

Yes, this was the true reason behind this attack, the first step of Dycedargs plan to gain power. He would also be able to gain the respect of Zalbag, and perhaps mold him into a respectable member of the family despite the terrible influence Balbanes had bestowed upon him. With Zalbag serving as his second in command, the two would be unstoppable!

It seemed that nobody would have ever been able to guess the true evil desires hidden deep within Dycedarg. He presented himself in respectable fashion, treated his men well, and had a great gift of making people do as he told them to. On all accounts, he appeared to be a kind and honorable man to nearly everyone. Soon enough, he would tarnish this reputation...

"Sir, we appear to be getting close to Renhi, shall we await orders from the commander or prepare to attack?" The question had been posed by Frin, a very powerful wizard who was extremely loyal to those he worked for. The rest of the group had halted, awaiting orders.

Dycedarg held up his hand. "We will attack immediately. Get into formation men, ready your weapons. Remember, knights in the front. Our enemies will rue the day they went up against the Hokuten elites!"  
  
---

Grisho had sent a single militia member out to the outskirts of the town to wait for the enemy, and to return as soon as the enemy were in eyeshot. The battle would take place within the village, so that the militia could spread out effectively and ambush the foe as soon as they arrived. Thirty militia members were out in the open, while the rest were concealed, ready to attack as soon as Grisho gave them the signal.

Sooner then expected, the boy came running back, looking quite excited. "Sir, there are only about twenty of them! We should have no problems here!"

"Ah, and what were they wearing?"

"Umm.. I'm not sure, they were too far away.."

"IDIOT!" Grisho punched the boy right in the face. Since Grisho had been wearing thick metal gloves, the boy screamed in pain from the blow and fell down on the ground, his nose broken. "I thought I told you to pay attention to what they were wearing!"

The boy was sobbing now, and he was covering his face in an attempt to stop the bleeding of his nose. "But.. But.. they would have seen me if I waited any longer!"

The other members of the militia were staring at Grisho with fury in their eyes, and Grisho noticed the looks. In response, he quickly changed his tone. "I see, sorry lad. I'm a bit nervous. It won't matter that much anyway who they are."  
  
---

It was not long until Dycedarg began to make out the shapes of the men within Renhi clearly. It took all of his effort to suppress his raw fury at the sight before him. _Those bastards dare to send militia against me??!!_

If there was one thing Dycedarg hated more then his father, it was commoners. They were as weak as one could get! Within a world controlled by power, they were the lowest beings by far. They were inferior in every aspect to the nobles. Much less intelligent, horrible in combat, worthless beings! The same worthless beings that had thrown stones at him as a boy and mocked his father when he passed by alone, the same bastards who refused to acknowledge him as a superior! Yes, and these militia members were no different from the rest of their kind. _How dare they insult me like this...  
_

The other Hokuten present were shocked at the sight, but then again it was not all that unexpected that Ordalia would end up using their own woman and children to help in battle, most likely in an attempt to get mercy from their foes.

Dycedarg did his best to keep his voice calm. "They dare to insult us by sending militia to deal with the strongest unit in Ivalice?! They are mocking us! Mocking the Hokuten! I suggest we show them what they're up against! Continue forward!!"

The others were a bit more reluctant, going up against young children and farmers who were hardly armed was not their idea of combat, but they did as they were told. It was a part of the job, as unpleasant as it may be..  
  
---

Grisho could see the advancing group, and counted twenty soldiers. They appeared heavily armed, although there was little chance they could defeat over two hundred militia. As they came closer, Grisho could make out the color they were all wearing. It was mainly white, with a small bit of blue. That meant... Grisho's eyes widened in fear, as did the two knights next to him.

It was at this moment that Grisho, a knight who was supposed to fearless and protect the weak at all costs, turned around and began to run for his life. The other two knights realized they would be dead too should they not escape as well, and followed in their leaders stead.

Dycedarg noticed that there appeared to be three knights among the pathetic knaves, all of them running away at the sight of their opponents. Dycedarg laughed loudly, and whistled. In response to the whistle, three of the Hokuten lancers leapt into the air, and a second later the three landed right on the knights, who's screams were quickly silenced when the razor sharp lances hit their marks.

With Grisho and the other knights dead, total chaos erupted. One of the older members of the militia yelled out, "CHARGE!" as loudly as he could, but a good portion ignored the order and started to flee. Dycedarg responded to the call by roaring out as loudly as he could, "ATTACK!"

The battle started at a very fast pace, but it did not take long for both sides to realize how much the fight would be a butchering. Many militia were quickly killed by archers, or hit by fatal spells from the wizards and summoners. The braver militia who dared engage the knights, monks, and lancers in combat were killed before they could so much as scratch their adversary's. Dycedarg was killing many militia at once as well, using his favorite stasis sword technique. The attack not only injured, but froze the militia it targeted, allowing them to be stationary targets for strong magic or arrow fire.

After about five minutes, most of the militia had already been killed. They simply stood no chance, despite their numbers, against such highly skilled opponents. Not to mention that the attempted ambush had worked against them rather then for them (since they were in such a panicked state). Two Hokuten monks had been slightly injured, but had quickly healed themselves with charka and returned to the fray, and with heavy levels of magic being used, the battle was already nearly over. What was left of the militia was in full retreat.

"Stop them!" Dycedarg yelled his second order, and started using the stasis sword as many times as he could, a rage deep inside him. Yet despite the anger within him, he had to admit he felt a great deal of pleasure. _Yes, I'll show these weaklings what real power is.. I'll show everyone here what real power is!_

The militia was now down to around thirty survivors, the rest were already dead or feigning death in an attempt to escape the inevitable. The ones still alive were quickly cut down by magic spells that chased after them, or hit by volleys of arrow fire. Lastly, the lancers were also jumping and killing any of the militia that managed to avoid the arrows and magic spells.

Another minute passed, and only four militia members appeared to still be alive. Three of them were on their knees now, and appeared to be begging for mercy. The Hokuten all halted, some of them sheathing their swords and lances. They were all looking at Dycedarg, at a loss of what to do. A few of them had never dealt with such a horrible side of war, and felt their stomachs churning at the sight before them and at what they had done to these commoners.

Dycedarg had noticed the four remaining militia, and walked towards them, keeping his sword drawn. Before him stood two boys who looked to be about thirteen, a middle aged man, and a young girl who appeared to be about the age of the boys. The children were all begging for their lives, and the middle aged man stood in front of them, appearing as if he was trying to shield them. Dycedarg smirked at the pathetic beings before him.

"Please, you can do what you want to me, but they're only children, there is no reason to harm them!" Dycedarg regarded the man with a dangerous smile._ Think you can fool me with your false attempt at bravery? Those commoners can't fool me with their petty acts, the only thing they want to do is kill me, kill something better then they can even begin to understand..._ "I'll follow the first part of your statement, but I doubt I'll follow the second." And with that, he added ironically, the cruel smile still on his face, "Life is short...Bury! Steady Sword!"

The blow killed the man instantly, and would have killed the other three had Dycedarg not aimed the attack directly at the man alone. In a short moment while he had been regarding the commoners, Dycedarg had noticed that one of the boys resembled a child who had always tormented him when he walked outside of the nobility section of Igros by himself. _Damn Balbanes for never warning me of how horrible the commoners were... No matter though, making this little boy suffer and scream for mercy will be nearly as good as killing the one who dared to mock and attack me in the past!_

But the children were not screaming, they were only standing there in mute shock. The other boy and the girl appeared terrified, but the boy who Dycedarg was planning on making truly suffer looked enraged. "You sick bastard! You killed my father!! I'll kill you!" The boy jumped at Dycedarg and attempted to plunge his dagger into Dycedargs heart, but Dycedarg sidestepped the attack and kicked the boy in the ribs, breaking a few of them judging by the loud crack he heard. The boy fell the ground sobbing.

He appeared unable to move now. "Why? Why did you kill him? He never harmed you! He would never harm anyone!" Dycedarg looked at the boy as if he was the lowest life form on earth. "He dared to stand up to us. So did you, and as such you will join his fate." The blade slice created a fatal wound, but was intended to allow the boy a few feeble gasps for air before succumbing to the strike.

Feeling extreme pleasure at finally avenging his honor after all these years, Dycedarg now turned his attention to the remaining two children. He walked up to the two, who were still struck with absolute terror, grabbed both of them with one hand, and held his blade in front of them. "Where is everyone else from this pathetic village hiding? The first of you to tell me will not suffer."

"Dycedarg, what in God's name are you doing?!"

_That voice!!_ Dycedarg let go of the children and turned around. Behind him stood Balbanes and Zalbag. Zalbag was surveying the scene before him and the carnage that had been caused by Dycedargs group and was turning pale and rigid, no doubt horrified by the scene but trying to keep his composure steady, but Balbanes was red with fury.

_Damnit!_ "Father, one of their men had taken a knight of mine hostage! I had no choice but to try to rescue him. My knights and I were ambushed as soon as we arrived, and we could do nothing other then defend ourselves."

Balbanes was also looking at the scene before him. "What the hell is wrong with you?! You slayed a bunch of militia members??!! These are woman and children Dycedarg! They would have surrendered immediately before trained knights! Do not expect me to believe that only those two standing before you surrendered!"

_Damnit.. DAMNIT!!_ "How could I trust them? They are the enemy. Should we have put down our blades, they would have taken the chance to stab us from behind! I acted in the best interest of the Hokuten. Would you rather I had stood there and been killed?"

"Did you ever think to just remove their weapons??!! Of course you did! I can tell you are lying! These people are not the enemy! They are innocent people who were forced to take arms! They would have no reason to have attacked us after surrendering even if you had not taken their weapons! They do not wish to fight..." Balbanes looked at the two children and tried to get control of his emotions, but the children still appeared frozen in terror. "Is what this man said true?"

The two children shuddered. They looked up at Dycedarg, who tried to shoot them horrible looks without his father noticing. The girl was the one to speak up. "He's... He's lying.. He killed the three men in charge of the militia... and.. and.. and then him and his men just started killing everyone, even the people who begged for mercy and tried to run away.. He... He even killed my brother and father..."

She broke into tears at this point, but enough had been said. The knights who had followed Dycedarg all felt somewhat sick inside, and all took a second to look around them. What had they done... Had they really done as this girl had said? They knew in their hearts the answer, but tried to convince themselves that it was not possible. Some of them tried to justify it as Dycedarg had, but the words of Balbanes struck heavily into them. There was nothing that could justify what they had done, and it was not possible to justify Dycedarg slaughtering a small child who had just seen his father die before him...

Zalbag turned even paler, staring at his brother with a look that said, "the child has to be mistaken, you would never kill when it isn't necessary, would you?"

Balbanes slapped his son across the face. Dycedarg kneeled over in pain, but did not make a sound. He only starred at his father, longing that the old man would die a horrible death at this very moment. "I can't believe even you would do something like this.. Slaughtering the innocent.. You deserve imprisonment for what you've just done!"

Dycedarg continued to stare at his father, he was too angry to be thinking very rationally, he felt pure hatred at the idiot who dared to hit him, the man who dared call himself his father... "Oh, but would I be? I did nothing wrong, and you know it! I may have killed a few commoners who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but so what? I did what was best. These men could have attacked us in our sleep. What then father? We would have lost good men from an ambush at night! I acted in a manner that any rational person would have done, and you are an idiot if you think differently!"

Balbanes hit Dycedarg once more, but again Dycedarg did not react aside from rubbing his very red cheek where he had been hit twice now. He was indeed in pain from being hit from one of the strongest men alive, but he would never show weakness in front of his men. _I'm stronger then this lumbering oaf will ever be, and I'll never let anyone think otherwise..._

"Damn you Dycedarg! You know that I always leave someone on watch at night for enemies! We would have been prepared for any enemy attack! You acted in a violent and destructive manner, and you did not even wait for the rest of us! Why did you decide to go on this little adventure?!"

At this point Zalbag came forward and stepped in front of is father. "Father, calm down! I'm sure Dycedarg was doing what he thought was best!" It seemed that despite the strong disgust and shock Zalbag felt, he still believed his brother was incapable of such actions (or at least wanted to believe so).

Balbanes was indeed enraged, but at least he had enough strength to be able to admit it to himself. He started to calm down before the statement of his much wiser son of the two present and started to get better control. "Trust me son, Dycedarg knew exactly what he was doing. It is exactly this sort of behavior that makes him unfit to one day lead the Hokuten knights. Let me ask you this Dycedarg, have you forgotten everything I've tried to teach you as a child? About upholding justice, protecting the innocent?"

Dycedarg was fuming at the idiocy of his father and his pathetic virtures, yet he dared not push the man any further at the moment. "Yes father, I remember, and I'm sorry I was unable to uphold them." Sorry that I wasn't able to make you suffer like made them...

"Dycedarg, I'm relieving you of your command. It will be Zalbag who will lead this section of the Hokuten, and he will take command of your troops from now on."

"But father, I'm not fit to lead anyone yet!"

"Trust me son, you are a great leader and much more prepared then you may think. One day you will be a great commander of the Hokuten knights."

Dycedarg was so angry that it took all of his will power not to fling himself at the pathetic old man before him and cut him to shreds. He knew his father was sure to not grant him any true leadership, but even so... He had just lost the little power he had held, and it had been taken by his younger and weaker little brother! His brother now held more power then he! An unstoppable fighting force that HE created had now been stolen from him! _Damnit!! I'll make you pay for this, you stupid bastards.. I'll make you both pay.._

Before any further comments could be made, it was Frin who spoke up. "Commander, what should we do with these two?" Balbanes took charge immediately, quickly remembering the situation before him. "Take them back to our camp for now, the rest of us will search the village for the rest of the villagers. Make sure not to harm any of them! Our orders were to take control of the village alone, and we will follow through with our orders. Both of you will be perfectly safe with us. As for you Dycedarg, (Balbanes turned to his son showing a look of pure disgust and anger) head back to camp with Frin and the children, we will continue this discussion later on."

Dycedarg followed Frin, who was leading the two children back in the direction of the camp grounds. After they were outside of town, Dycedarg quickly muttered "Go on ahead Frin, I'm going to see to other manners for a while." Frin gave him a curious look, but made no objection, he was still a bit shocked over the entire matter himself and was unsure which side to take (he had been forced to kill commoners before, but still felt disgusted the last time he had to do so).. It was ironic that father and son held almost opposite views on war, combat, and life itself. He continued on, bringing the children with him. Both of them had returned to complete states of shock.

As soon as Frin was out of ear shot, Dycedarg began screaming and cursing, finally venting his raw fury. "DAMNIT, DAMNIT ALL!" He threw his sword into the dirt as hard as he could, pretending it was his fathers thick skull.

_It makes no sense! How is it possible that such an idiotic and foolish man could be physically stronger then I? I'm superior to the man in every form but brute strength yet he holds the power! Why the hell am I not the one in charge?!_

The question kept raging through Dycedargs mind. Was there something that set his father apart from everyone else? What made him different from all the other weak fools aside from skill in combat? Could it be his petty ideas that gained him respect from Zalbag and the others? His notion of justice and equality? No, that couldn't be it, those ideas were feared by all leaders.. So what was it? What could possibly set him apart?

At that moment, the notion clicked. _Ah of course! Why had I not seen it before?! It's his loyalty! The same loyalty Zalbag shows to the family and the same loyalty that allowed both of them to gain power and respect within the Hokuten!_ Yes, it had to be loyalty. It was the loyalty of Balbanes that made him follow orders without objection even if they went against his supposed morals, it was loyalty that allowed him to be favored so highly by those with true power. It was so obvious!

Now that he knew what set the man apart from the others, Dycedarg quickly formulated a plan. He would become the most loyal subject of the Hokuten. HE would be the one to follow orders perfectly and without objection, and HE would be the one who would gain respect from those who held power! If he combined loyalty with his cunning and power, so far surpassing that of nearly any other human being, he would soon be the one with power beyond his wildest imagination! There was only one problem in his plans, a horrible force that would prevent it from ever taking ground.. _Balbanes..._

Yes, that idiot would see right through him. No matter his efforts, Balbanes would be able to read his true intentions. _Well, I suppose I'll just have to kill him. With Balbanes dead, I will be able to manipulate and control everyone else and everything will fit into place. But how to do it? _

Dycedarg started pacing, wondering how he could kill his father without ever being suspected. While pacing, Dycedarg happened to come upon a shallow grave. He had stumbled across a small graveyard of a family of the village. Yet it was not just any grave. This grave showed the bearings of a person killed by heavy doses of mosfungus.

_Hah, it seems even fate has decided to show its support for my conquest. Yes, mosfungus will be the perfect way to kill the old man. Few people realize just how dangerous the fungus can be should it be inhaled for a long enough period of time, not to mention that the symptoms will make it appear as nothing more then a cold. No one will ever suspect that death from a cold was really an assassination!_

Dycedarg began to laugh, a cold and cruel laugh that fitted his true character very well indeed. At last, at last the Beoulve name would be restored, and at long last he would be power itself! Soon both Ivalice and Ordalia would kneel before him. Dycedarg, the most cunning, powerful man to ever be! Yes, that glorious day was not far off from now...

**Authors comment to first review (uncertain how to reply to reviews, since I've received my first one I decided to comment here).  
**  
I appreciate the review and comments, thanks for posting my first review! I do suppose I should have re-read the story over twice before submitting it (I looked over it once) and probably should have looked over the format in case some changes occurred when it transferred over to fanfiction.net. I guess it's a good lesson to learn now though since I'm just starting off. 

I decided to make Zalbag react as he did because it just seems to be his nature to defend the honor of his family at all costs. He seems to always think that the members of his family are good people, and therefore it seemed that he would be likely to question Dycedarg really committing the act and unable to truly believe his brother would do something so horrible. I don't think he ever supported Dycedarg in this case. Rather, he was trying to defend his older brother whom he regarded as a good man and someone rather close to him.

As for Dycedarg throwing a hissy fit, I just saw it fitting his character. Since he almost always manages to control his emotions well throughout the game, I thought it would make sense that although he appears to be able to have complete control, he is really struggling to hold emotions inside of himself, and to compensate releases them as soon as there are no people around to see his negative emotions. I also thought it would make sense for him to lose control with his emotions somewhat even while confronting his father and the militia, since at this point he is somewhat younger, and not quite as horrible as he soon becomes.

I'll be sure to take a look through your final fantasy tactics story as well and perhaps review it myself should you be interested. By the way, is there any way that comments to reviews can be made? If so, I don't think it was mentioned anywhere on the page.  
  
My thanks, -Unknownforce


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